Retirement countdown calculator.

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We'll send these three dates and your assumptions to your inbox so you can come back to them.

We store your email and that you used this tool, not your numbers, and send four short follow-up emails over about two weeks (unsubscribe in any of them). We never share your email.

Watch the walkthrough

A short video of this calculator in use, if you'd rather see it than read how.

What do typical numbers give?

The earliest month at each level for five sample households, from this calculator's own engine, dated October 31, 2026. Each one uses the standard assumptions above.

Two things stand out. Asking for more certainty never moves the date earlier, because a safer plan needs a bigger cushion against bad markets. And in these five households the step from 85% to 95% adds 2.2 to 3.8 years, which is why the level you pick matters as much as the numbers you enter. The calculator post shows which numbers move the date most, and the countdown post explains how the date is built. For 150 more households, by age, savings and spending, see the retirement date data table.

Illustrations of the calculator's output, not forecasts or recommendations. "Now" means the household already clears that level.

Methodology: how we calculate this

For every year you could retire in, from this year on, the engine simulates 400 possible market histories. Each one pays your spending from your accounts in a tax-aware order, adds Social Security and health costs, and checks whether the money lasts to age 95. The share that last is the chance for that year. Retiring later generally means more saved and fewer years to fund, so the chance rises as the year moves out; the table never shows a dip, because a small dip would only be simulation noise. Your retirement runway is how many years your savings can fund your spending; this calculator finds the earliest month that runway is long enough to reach age 95 at the confidence you pick.

To get a month, the calculator places each year's chance on the calendar (this year's is today, later years' are 1 January) and draws a straight line between them. The first month where that line reaches 85%, 90% or 95% is your date, rounded up to a month start. It is the same method the countdown in Runway uses, with fewer simulated histories.

Assumptions

One person filing single, planning to age 95, with the portfolio split 60% traditional (pre-tax) accounts, 15% Roth, 20% taxable and 5% cash, invested 60% in stocks. Your savings go into the pre-tax account until you stop. Social Security is claimed at 67 and you can change the amount. It includes federal income tax, the 10% early-withdrawal tax on traditional money before 59½, Medicare and pre-65 health insurance costs, required minimum distributions, and a long-term care cost late in life.

The five numbers are sent to our server to run the simulation and are not stored. If you ask for the results by email, we store your email address and that you used this tool, not your numbers, and send four short follow-up emails over about two weeks, each with an unsubscribe link. We never share your email.

Inputs and limits

Age 35 to 75; retirement age 40 to 80; savings and investments $0 to $20,000,000; yearly saving $0 to $1,000,000; yearly spending $10,000 to $500,000; Social Security $0 to $6,000 a month.

Worked example

At the calculator's defaults (age 58, retire at 62, $1,200,000 saved, $30,000 saved a year, $70,000 spent a year, Social Security $2,170 a month from 67), as of October 31, 2026:

• Earliest month at 85%: October 2028.
• Earliest month at 90%: October 2029.
• Earliest month at 95%: March 2031.
• Chance if you retire at 62: about 91%.
• Spend $10,000 a year less: May 2027, 29 months earlier.
• Spend $10,000 a year more: January 2032, 27 months later.

Year by year chance the money lasts to 95: 2026, 56%; 2027, 66%; 2028, 80%; 2029, 87%; 2030, 91%; 2031, 95%; 2032, 98%; 2033, 100%.

What it ignores

It leaves out state tax, a spouse, pensions, rental income, your home and debts. It is a rough estimate: 400 simulated histories per retirement year, against the planner's 2,000. Dates are counted from the day the page was built, so the same inputs give later months as time passes. This is an educational estimate, not personal financial advice.

Last reviewed: November 2, 2026. This date moves only when the methodology is checked against the live calculator again, not when the page is rebuilt.

Thinking about moving money to a Roth in the years before your first required withdrawal? The Roth conversion calculator shows whether it pays off.

Frequently asked questions

When can I retire?

The earliest month you can retire depends on five numbers: your age, the age you would like to retire, what you have saved, what you add each year, and what you spend each year in retirement. Social Security starts at the average benefit and can be changed. This calculator tests every year you could retire in, runs 400 simulated market histories for each one, and returns the earliest month your money lasts to 95 at the confidence level you pick. Enter your five numbers above to see your date.

Can I retire at 60?

It depends on your five numbers, mostly spending. Two households from this calculator's own engine, as of October 31, 2026: a 60-year-old with $1,500,000 saved, adding $20,000 a year and spending $90,000 reaches 90% in March 2031. A 60-year-old with $1,400,000 saved, adding nothing more and spending $85,000 reaches 90% in January 2032. Enter your own five numbers above to see yours.

What age can I retire with $1 million?

It depends mostly on spending. As of October 31, 2026, for a 60-year-old with $1,000,000 saved and adding $20,000 a year, the earliest month at 90% is October 2027 (about age 61) if spending $55,000 a year; August 2030 (about age 64) if spending $65,000 a year; December 2032 (about age 66) if spending $75,000 a year. At $45,000 a year the same household already clears 90% today. A different age, a different saving habit or a second person's income changes this: enter your own five numbers above.

How do I find the earliest date I can retire?

Test every year you could retire in. For each one, run your savings, spending, taxes, Social Security and health costs through many simulated market histories and count how often the money lasts to age 95. The earliest year whose success rate reaches the level you want is your date. This calculator does that with 400 simulated histories per year, then reads the month off a straight line between the two years either side of your target.

What does an 85%, 90% or 95% chance mean?

It is the share of simulated market histories in which your money lasts to age 95. At 90%, the money ran out before then in about 1 history out of 10. It is a measure of how much cushion the plan has against bad markets, not a prediction that you will be in the 90.

Why does it give a month and not an exact day?

The engine answers in whole years: for each year you could retire, how likely the money is to last. The month comes from drawing a straight line between two years, and it is rounded up to the start of a month so the date never promises more than the numbers give. Markets move in years, not months, so treat the month as a rough guide.

What does the calculator assume about me?

One person filing single, planning to age 95, with the portfolio split 60% traditional (pre-tax) accounts, 15% Roth, 20% taxable and 5% cash, invested 60% in stocks. Your savings go into the pre-tax account until you stop. Social Security is claimed at 67 and you can change the amount. It includes federal income tax, the 10% early-withdrawal tax on traditional money before 59½, Medicare and pre-65 health insurance costs, required minimum distributions, and a long-term care cost late in life. It leaves out state tax, a spouse, pensions, rental income, your home and debts.

Does it include the 10% early-withdrawal tax before 59½?

Yes. The IRS says early distributions are generally those taken from an IRA before age 59½, and they carry a 10% additional tax unless an exception applies (IRS Topic no. 557). The calculator charges it on traditional money drawn before 59½ and does not model exceptions such as the Rule of 55 or 72(t).

How much do I need saved to retire?

It depends on what you spend, when Social Security starts and how many years the money has to last, which is why this calculator asks for spending and your Social Security amount. The posts on how much you need to retire and on the safe withdrawal rate walk through the rules of thumb.

Does my information get saved?

The five numbers are sent to our server to run the simulation and are not stored. If you ask for the results by email, we store your email address and that you used this tool, not your numbers, and send four short follow-up emails over about two weeks, each with an unsubscribe link. We never share your email.